Auriel
Auriel is a Ranged Support Hero from the Diablo universe. It is through the archangel Auriel that the power of hope flows into the fabric of creation. Her eternal light illuminates even the darkest souls. Seeking harmony in all things, she is a mediator, a counselor, and when the need arises, a fearless warrior. Background Auriel is the Archangel Angel and Aspect of Hope and a member of the Angiris Council. The most beloved of all angels, it is she who leads the sweet chorus of the High Heavens. As with her kin, Auriel fought in the Great Conflict, slaying many demons. There are many tales of her incredible feats in battle, breaching the walls of the Pandemonium Fortress alongside her fellow archangels to wrest the stronghold from Hell's grasp. Gameplay Summary Auriel is a Support Hero with an unique mechanic: she doesn't use Mana as resource for her healing. Instead, she can convert her own damage and her allies' into energy through her Trait, ; the more energy she has, the more powerful will be the healing effect. Additionally, she has utility in the forms of waveclear, knockback and stun, as well being capable of resurrecting fallen Heroes. Overall, Auriel is best used in teams with high damage output, allowing her to gain energy fast and efficiently, thus increasing her healing burst. She performs exceptionally well in dual Support compositions where the second Support supplements her healing. Strengths * Doesn't use Mana as resource. * Can fill energy quickly when using on allies with high burst and/or spike damage, such as Li-Ming or Gul'dan. * has a strong area of effect healing when cast at full energy. ** can turn Ray of Heaven into the strongest healing ability in the game, should the player manage to get high stacks. * provides great waveclear. * is a great tool to repel opponents, and can stun if they colide against nearly any object. * Can dead Heroes. Weaknesses * Cannot heal without storing Energy through combat. * Requires strong allies in order to generate energy at a reasonable pace. ** Susceptible to poking, forcing allies to escape and be unable to deal damage properly * Poor movement options, being very easy to isolate, as well vulnerable to dives. Abilities Traits Heroic Abilities Talents Tier 1, Hero Level 1 Tier 2, Hero Level 4 Tier 3, Hero Level 7 Tier 4, Hero Level 10 Tier 5, Hero Level 13 Tier 6, Hero Level 16 Tier 7, Hero Level 20 Talent Builds * Sacred Sweep Damage Build: focused on increasing Auriel overall damage output with , thus effectively increasing the Energy generation; this can make her impact team fights even more, as she will be able to both deal respectable damage and heal her allies more often. It also makes her great at clearing enemy waves. * Sacred Sweep Blind Build: focuses on increasing 's cast speed, with the added effect of blinding opponents. It sacrifices raw damage for utility, making it useful against teams that rely on Basic Attack Damage. * Detainment Strike Build: a more situational build that greatly improves the efficiency of , allowing Auriel to throw her opponents against objects more often. This build is useful in very specific situations, when both teams focus on frontline Heroes and have enough crowd control for peeling. Tips * Try to always keep up with strong damage dealers; don't on Warriors with low damage output. * If talented into , Auriel can deal respectable damage that even pairs her with some Assassins. Use this to pull some surprise strikes. ** Increasing Clarity quest stacks count when hitting any enemy Hero, including clones (i.e. Samuro's , Nova's ) and even Summons (Dragon Knight, Garden Terror). * requires precision, but it is very rewarding once mastered, resulting in powerful kill setups if Auriel manages to stun the opponent, and is also a great peeling tool. Try to conduct your enemy into having an obstacle behind them, and strike. ** The stun is applied when the opponent hits ANY kind of collidable object, being not limited only to walls and structures. These includes: *** Nazeebo's ; *** D.Va's MEKA when is used; *** Sgt. Hammer's (if is taken); *** Tassadar's ; *** Leoric's ; *** Sonya's (if is taken); *** Kel'Thuzad's . *** Blaze's . *** The vase spawned from Garden Terror's Overgrowth. *** The doubloon chests that spawn in Blackheart's Bay. * , much like other stasis effects, can be used to save Auriel and her allies from targeted abilities, including dives like The Butcher's , Illidan's , Tyrael's , among others. Matchups Pairings Generally, Auriel is best paired with Heroes that deal reliable damage spikes, or sustained damage. For these reasons, she'll often want to keep on a strong Assassin, although some Specialists can provide enough damage to give her constant Energy. Two Heroes, each Bestowing Hope to Auriel? Who could have imagined that a two-headed ogre would offer so much hope (and power) to a team. Both and also work great with Cho'gall, allowing you to protect or bring back two allies at the price of one cooldown. Gul'dan turns Health into damage, and Auriel turns damage into Health. Together, they’re an engine of war. The sheer amount of area of effect and damage over time effects that Gul’dan provides really give Auriel a lot of energy to work with. And as long as she keeps healing Gul’dan, she won’t have to worry about her ally running out of Mana. Auriel can easily fill her energy with allies that have high burst and deal potent area damage. Li-Ming fulfills this role perfectly; with low cooldowns on her abilities, straightforward raw damage and powerful , she can provide energy to Auriel quite fast when under the effects of . Auriel shines when she has an ally that can consistently deal damage, steadily fueling her healing power. The consistent and predictable nature of Lunara’s damage also makes it a lot easier to use healing efficiently, rarely wasting energy. Malthael is a great candidate for , as he can easily apply his to many enemies at once, which in turn generate constant energy for Auriel. He can be more effective than Lunara in this regard, specially when fighting against opponents with high health, such as Warriors. Nazeebo's sustained damage provides a great energy generation for Auriel under the right circumstances. For instance, if given chance, will fill her gauge in a matter of seconds. However, their true synergy lies in the combined follow up of and , which will add an extra layer of crowd control; since Detainment Strike will stun any opponent that collides against an obstacle, this allows Nazeebo to create these opportunities every 14 seconds. Similarly, Auriel has this kind of synergy with Leoric's , Tassadar's and Sgt. Hammer's (if is taken). Ragnaros is a powerhouse, being capable of dishing a lot of damage quickly. He is a notable candidate for due the fact he can still be affected by it while using ; although he cannot be healed while under its effects, the energy he can provide to Auriel is remarkable, making the pair useful while defending structures. Auriel thrives by having a Bestow Hope target that can deal constant sustained damage. Since Auriel is given Energy through Samuro’s clones, they are a match made in Heaven. To further showcase their synergy, Auriel’s area-of-effect healing does a great job keeping both Samuro and his clones topped off nicely. While she can't contribute as effectively as other characters, Zarya synergies with Auriel are almost perfect; both characters use their own resources other than mana, meaning they can keep their presence in the battlefield with high effectiveness, and don't need to visit Health Fountains in order to regain the fuel for their abilities. Zarya can Auriel and fuel her , which in turn converts into for Auriel's . The only flaws of this pairing are the lack of mobility and reliable crowd control, as Auriel requires to hit enemies against walls when using and Zarya's Heroics both have high cooldown. Effective against While Auriel shouldn't directly engage into combat due to her lack of movement options, she does have the right tools to damage and stun her opponents, when given the opportunity. However, she must always try to make the best of to generate energy, and also deal respectable damage, to the point of helping securing kills. Similarly to Samuro's clones, Auriel can capitalize on The Lost Vikings, being able to generate thrice as much energy should she hit them with when the three are together (mostly during team fights). Stuns and Knockbacks make it much harder for Malthael to apply to enemies and heal himself with , and Auriel brings both with her Detainment Strike ability. She can also use her Crystal Aegis heroic to counter Malthael’s . While Samuro can effectively surround Auriel with , she can easily retaliate with , hitting all his clones with it and convert into easy energy. Since the AI of Samuro's clones will always advance forward, the player can easily exploit it to hit as many as possible; this also makes completing the quest talent much easier. Effective foes Auriel's worst nightmares are Heroes that can easily dive and isolate her from the team and capitalize on her poor movement options. Enemies that are too aggressive and prevent Auriel's allies from retaliating will also prevent her from gathering enough energy for a reliable cast of . One of Auriel's major flaws is her very poor mobility, making her an easy prey for The Butcher; although her can prevent her to be target by , its high cooldown compared to the later's short won't keep her safe for long. The Butcher can easily focus on her and negate any chances of escaping by using . During Ruthless Onslaught he is also unstoppable, meaning Auriel can't repel him with Detainment Strike during this attack. While Auriel does have the potential to output infinite healing, it has the requirement of her team dealing damage to enemies. An enemy Chromie is able to dish out damage from often unreachable distances, making it possible for Auriel’s team to be whittled down without any effective reaction. Auriel wants time for her allies to generate energy for her healing, but Diablo likes to press the issue. If Diablo chooses to concentrate his disabling effects on the character that generates the best energy for Auriel, he effectively cripples Auriel’s healing capabilities. Auriel relies on her team inflicting damage in order to gather energy necessary to heal. Since Stukov can apply constant pressure with and silence his opponents, this can both shutdown Auriel's main source of energy, as well Auriel's herself. Additionally, Stukov can punish both of Auriel's Heroic abilities by casting Lurking Arm; after she uses either Ressurrect or Crystal Aegis, Stukov can simply cast Lurking Arm on her target and wait; if Auriel casts it on herself, it is essentially a death penalty. One of the hardest matchups for Auriel, Tracer is sticky and can easily focus on Auriel, capitalizing on her poor movement speed with basic attacks, as well by using and . Her fast movement with also makes hard for Auriel to properly hit with her offensive abilities. Tyrael excels at diving in the backline, which is the midterm where Auriel resides. is very dangerous due its teleport and slow functions, allowing Tyrael to stick on Auriel similarly to Tracer and Zeratul, while at the same time allows opponents to chase Auriel more easily. His is potentially fatal as it can and will give Tyrael's allies enough time to follow up after the stun; on the other hand, Auriel can cancel his charge with Crystal Aegis. In a similar fashion to Zeratul, Valeera has all the right tools to disable fragile backline spell-users like Auriel. Being able to easily and/or Auriel, Valeera is a potential threat during team fights, specially if her team can effectively follow up her ambushes Zeratul’s ability to create havoc in the backline forces Auriel into really difficult situations. Zeratul is good at picking off the fragile Auriel, or her target, without opening himself up to damage that would fuel Auriel’s healing. As an answer to this, Auriel might want her team whole team to group up together - but this can set them up for some nasty setups. Skins ;Archangel of Hope (base) ;Archangel :It is said that the power of the Nexus amplifies what lies within a warrior's heart. While Auriel's countenance has changed, the light of hope within her is more resplendent than ever. ;Sakura :For centuries, viewing cherry blossoms at the start of spring has been a time-honored tradition. Auriel was the first omnic to join in the festivities, and has done so every year since she started. :This skin is related to the Overwatch themed-skins. Features altered voice-over, themed abilities and themed animations. ;Demonic :An angel can never truly become a demon. But once the Lord of Hatred corrupted Auriel's spirit, and bound it within a mistress of the Burning Hells, most mortals would struggle to tell the difference. :Features altered voice-over, themed abilities. Development Auriel appeared in a trailer for the Eternal Conflict, but was not implemented through the expansion. However, the developers did not rule out future inclusion.Heroes of the Storm Twitter, accessed on 2015-06-24 She was confirmed as a playable hero in July, 2016.2016-07-01, In Development – Auriel, Gul’dan, and more!. YouTube, accessed on 2016-07-02 Patch changes * * * * * * * References External links *Auriel at the Diablo wiki Category:Angel Category:Support Category:Heroes Category:Angiris Council Category:Aspects Category:Deities